Our HistoryThis congregation of The United Methodist Church is descended from a group of early Monroe County settlers who met together to hear Methodist Circuit Riders preach whenever they came to the area. In 1818, the year the county was organized with Bloomington as the county seat, a regular Methodist class started gathering on Sundays in a log cabin located where College Avenue crosses Seventh Street. Except when circuit riders came through, local leaders conducted worship services. In 1821 the class had grown so much that its members had to build a meetinghouse. As Bloomington grew, so did the congregation.
By the early 1840s, that group of early Methodists had become a full-fledged church with a permanent pastor; Sunday School classes and regular church services were held every Sunday. The First Methodist Episcopal Church kept on growing - so much that about every 20 years between 1821 and 1907, the congregation had to build a larger and more substantial church structure. (Our History and Archives Committee has published an illustrated pamphlet that tells the history of our church’s buildings. It is available in the church office.)
All through the 19th and well into the 20th century, our denomination’s pattern of leadership held that preachers could serve congregations for no more than four years. This meant that pastors came and went with such regularity that a tradition of sturdy lay leadership developed in most Methodist Episcopal congregations. Ours was no exception. Indeed, our lay leaders made First Church, as it was (and is) often called, central to the Bloomington community. Our church was also a leading congregation in the state. Soon after the current building was dedicated in 1909, our church became known as "The Cathedral of Indiana Methodism."
A devastating fire, probably started by an electrical short in the dome, occurred in 1937. The interior of the church was destroyed, leaving only the exterior stone walls standing. Although this was the depth of the Great Depression, the congregation rallied and rebuilt the church.
By the mid-1980s, the pastoral staff and lay leaders realized that our congregation would either need to move once again or undertake a major program of repair and expansion. Church members decided to stay downtown. Now our sanctuary has been preserved so that it will continue to serve new generations of worshippers. At the same time, a Wesley Wing has been constructed. This space permits the educational programs to go forward on Sundays and weekdays. Equally important, the congregation’s many outreach activities continue to make First Church "a church in the heart of the community with the community in its heart."
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